Claim profile
1600–1699

The 17th century

Whose working lives fell in the 17th century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 17th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇯🇵 Japan🇹🇷 Turkey🇳🇱 Netherlands🇪🇸 Spain🇮🇹 Italy🇸🇪 Sweden🇨🇳 China
FieldAllWritersPoliticiansHistorical FiguresArtistsAcademicsScientistsMusiciansReligious FiguresActorsModels
  1. 1Charles II, Elector PalatineCharles II, Elector Palatine1651–1685 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  2. 2Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-DarmstadtLouis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt1577–1626 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  3. 3Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-DurlachFrederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach1647–1709 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models0 decades
  4. 4John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-AnsbachJohn Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach1654–1686 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  5. 5Bogislaw XIV, Duke of PomeraniaBogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania1580–1637 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models4 decades
  6. 6Christina Magdalena of the Palatinate-ZweibrückenChristina Magdalena of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken1616–1662 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  7. 7Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-MünzenbergCountess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg1602–1651 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  8. 8Edward FortunatusEdward Fortunatus1565–1600 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models6 decades
  9. 9John Albert II, Duke of MecklenburgJohn Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg1590–1636 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models3 decades
  10. 10Frederick V, Margrave of Baden-DurlachFrederick V, Margrave of Baden-Durlach1594–1659 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  11. 11Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-AnsbachMargravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach1661–1705 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  12. 12Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-AnsbachJoachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach1583–1625 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  13. 13Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of ZweibrückenCountess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken1626–1692 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  14. 14John George of BrandenburgJohn George of Brandenburg1577–1624 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  15. 15Christine of Baden-DurlachChristine of Baden-Durlach1645–1705 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  16. 16Erdmann August of Brandenburg-BayreuthErdmann August of Brandenburg-Bayreuth1615–1651 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  17. 17FIFrederick III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach1616–1634 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  18. 18Philip III, Margrave of Baden-RodemachernPhilip III, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern1567–1620 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models22 decades
  19. 19MMMaria Magdalena of Oettingen-Baldern1619–1688 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  20. 20CUCatherine Ursula of Hohenzollern-Hechingen1610–1640 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—
  21. 21JPJohn Philip II, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Salm-Dhaun1645–1693 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Modelsnot measured—

How this is measured

  • Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
  • Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
  • Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
  • What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.